Albanese, Miles governments team up to back $36.8m SAF project in Australia
The Albanese and Miles governments in Australia announced a joint partnership to support the development of a sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production facility in north-eastern coastal city of Townsville with a $368m project.
The facility, backed by a consortium of partners including Jet Zero Australia, LanzaJet, Qantas, Airbus, and Idemitsu Kosan, is expected to produce approximately 110m litres of low carbon liquid fuels (LCLFs) including sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) annually.
The project aims to convert ethanol, made from agricultural waste, into jet fuel, reducing carbon emissions by up to 70% compared to traditional fossil fuels. The project will include a front-end engineering design (FEED) study to assess the viability of a subsequent commercial-scale production facility.
The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has committed $9m to the project, while the Queensland Government has contributed $5m through its Queensland New-Industry Development Strategy (QNIDS).
“Townsville brings together outstanding renewable energy resources along with its port and its people. This brings our investment in renewable hydrogen and fuel projects in Townsville to well over $100m,” said minister for climate change and energy Chris Bowen.
The initiative is part of the broader $22.7bn Future Made in Australia package, which aims to unlock investment and create jobs in sustainable industries.
“This is yet another demonstration of the Albanese Government, working in partnership with other levels of government and industry, getting on with the job of supporting a sustainable aviation sector – one that backs future jobs and a lower carbon footprint,” said minister for infrastructure, transport, regional development and local government minister, Catherine King.
The Townsville SAF facility is expected to be operational by late 2025. It is anticipated to displace up to 225,000 tonnes of CO2 annually, making a significant contribution to Australia’s efforts to combat climate change.
In addition to this project, earlier this month, Comstock announced that its subsidiary, Comstock Fuels Corporation, has entered into a strategic partnership with Singapore-based renewable fuel project developer SACL to invest in development three biofuel refineries in Australia.
The refineries, which will have a combined annual capacity of 1.5m metric tons, will produce a variety of renewable fuels in Australia, including SAF, gasoline, and diesel using Comstock Fuels’ lignocellulosic biomass refining technology.